Sweet Child of Mine
by Rydia Sorcha
Summary: An old girlfriend has a big surprise for Ryan...and forces him to grow up...in a good way
1. Old and New Faces

**AN: Ryan's college girlfriend is in town and she has a big surprise for Ryan...read and review please!  
**

Ryan Wolfe was in the middle of an intense interrogation when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He ignored it and focused on the suspect. He was pissed off because he knew the guy in the room with him was guilty of murdering his wife, but he did not have enough to convict him on evidence alone , so he needed to get a confession from him.

After two hours in interrogation, Ryan had to admit defeat for the time being. He could not get the guy to crack, and he could not keep him locked up either. It annoyed him to no end to have to just let a guy walk.

"Hey Wolfe, how'd it go?" Delko asked him as he walked out of the room, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. Ryan shook his head in annoyance.

"I've got nothing on him but a gut feeling that he's guilty...and now I have to let the guy just walk."

Delko shook his head, echoing his coworkers frustration.

"Alright, lets go look over the evidence again, see if there is anything we missed," Delko said, turning towards the lab. Ryan nodded as he took out his phone.

"Hold on, I'll meet you in a second, I have a voice mail," he said, heading outside the building. He dialed into his voice mail, punching the code and then listening earnestly, hoping it was someone with a lead on his case. Instead a female voice came through.

"Hey Ryan, um, this is Katrina Carson. I got your number off Doug. I know it's been a long time, but I'm actually going to be in Miami next week and I was wondering if you wanted to do lunch. My number is 978-555-8949. Hope to hear from you. Bye."

His voice mail went straight through the prompts before he realized the message was over and he was listening to silence. Finally he closed his phone.

"Well, that was unexpected," he said to himself, shaking his head in surprise.

He walked back into the building, grabbed the case file, and sat down in the break room with a cup of coffee. He started to flip through the files but found his mind was wandering. His eyes were looking at the papers in his hand, but his mind was thinking back 6 years.

_"We knew this was going to happen, Ryan! You've got the police academy in Florida, I have my job offer here in Boston. We've been ignoring this situation for months, and we can't avoid it anymore!"_

_"Well what do you want from me, Kat? I'm not ready to get married!"_

_"What makes you think I am?! Just because we've been together all through college? I have my own life here in Boston, I'm not about to follow you to Florida like some lost puppy!_

_"Good, because the last thing I want now is someone holding me back!"_

Ryan could still remember the sound the glass made as it hit the wall behind him, shattering when Kat threw it. She had kicked him out of the apartment they shared that night after two straight hours of fighting. Six years had passed and they had not spoken since.

"Stressed over the case?"

Ryan looked up and saw that Calleigh had entered the room.

"Yeah," he said, but Calleigh didn't fall for it. "Come on, Ryan, what's up?"

Ryan sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I just got a voice mail from my college girlfriend. She's going to be in Miami next week. I haven't seen or heard from her in almost six years."

"Are you going to see her?"

"I don't know, we were together all through college, even lived together, but things ended really badly..."

Calleigh smiled reassuringly. "People change though over time. Maybe it'll be fun to catch up."

Ryan finally smiled. "You are annoyingly cheerful sometimes, you know that?"

Several hours later, Ryan was finally leaving the lab. He sat in his car and then dialed Kat's number.

"Hello?" the voice on the line said.

"Hey, Kat, it's Ryan. I, uh, got your message. So you are going to be in Florida?"

"Yeah, I have a few meetings to attend and I decided to go for the week, take a bit of a vacation as well. I was really hoping to meet up...I want to talk...you know, catch up."

Ryan was a bit surprised. The Kat he had dated was confident, yet now she seemed at a loss for words. He assumed it was just because it had been so long since they had had any contact.

They talked for a few more minutes, making plans to meet at a restaurant in just a few days.

* * *

Ryan walked into his two bedroom apartment and threw his keys on the table. He headed right for the bathroom, stripping off his clothes and hopping into the shower. As he let the hot water beat down on him, his thoughts turned to his relationship with Kat. When they had first broken up, he had forced himself not to think about her, as it was too painful. Instead, he threw himself headfirst into his training.

Now, for the first time in years, he let himself remember. He remembered how they first met, the first week of classes at Boston College. They had sat next to each other in freshman English for weeks, making occasional small talk. Homecoming Weekend, he saw her across the room at a party and went over and talked to her. He remember how she was dressed simply but looked beautiful. They hung out that night, drinking together. Throughout their entire relationship she often teased him about his poor attempts to flirt that first night. He could always turn the tables back on her though, reminding her how her first experiences with tequila that night had her decorating the bushes outside her dorm. He had held her hair back and made sure she made it to her room, staying with her until he was sure her roommate had it under control.

He chuckled to himself as he remembered experiencing college with her. Attending parties together, learning their limits with alcohol. Keeping each other company during late night study sessions during finals week. They had both been virgins when they started college, and they shared that first experience together freshman year when Ryan's roommate went away for the weekend.

He also remembered the bad times too...they were passionate, temperamental people, and they loved to push each others buttons. They had moved into an apartment together in Cambridge their senior year, and the complete loss of space had lead to some nasty blowouts. The relationship ended right after graduation; Ryan was attending the Police Academy in Florida, and Kat had been offered a great opportunity with a company in Boston.

When his shower was done, he threw on some sweatpants, flipped on the TV, and made a sandwich. His thoughts flitted from Kat and the case all night.

* * *

Ryan was supposed to meet Kat at the restaurant in an hour, but unfortunately, his case had finally hit a break. He ducked outside quickly to call her.

"Hey, Kat, I don't think I'm going to make it to the restaurant. I am working on a big case. There are a few restaurants around here though. Why don't you meet me at the lab?"

He could hear her hesitation even through the phone. "Ryan, I don't think that's such a good idea,"

"Please Kat, I am really busy but I want to see you. I'll text you the address. Please come."

She finally agreed, and they hung up.

An hour later, he was in the DNA lab with Calleigh and Delko when a lab tech poked his head in. "Ryan, someone's at the front desk for you."

Ryan swallowed, suddenly nervous, and then headed through the door. Calleigh and Delko glanced at each other and then raced for the door, determined to get a glance at the girl.

They were right behind him and saw her at the same time he did. She was about 5'7, brown hair, blue eyes. She was dressed in black pinstripe pants and a white button down shirt. She was pretty, but there was nothing unremarkable about her appearance. What was interesting was the person with her. She was holding hands with a young girl in a yellow sundress. The girl had short brown hair in pigtails and green eyes.

Ryan walked right over. "Hey, Kat," he said with a smile. The two hugged and kissed on the cheek.

"And who are you?" Ryan asked, bending down on his knees and smiling at the young girl.

"This is my daughter, Anne," Kat explained.

"Well hello, Anne," Ryan said to her. "How old are you?"

The little girl smiled shyly. "I'm five," she said, keeping her grip on her moms hand.

Kat and Ryan's eyes met and suddenly the realization hit him hard.

The truth hit Calleigh and Delko at the same time. "Oh, wow," Calleigh whispered.

"No, you don't think...?" Delko couldn't even find the words.

Calleigh quickly did the math in her head. "It fits with the timeline, from what he's told me..."

Ryan stood up slowly, trying to comprehend and not fully believing it.

"Kat..." he started slowly.

Calleigh suddenly walked over, interrupting. Although she knew the situation was none of her business, she also knew that no one involved wanted the little girl to have to witness whatever was about to happen.

"Hi, you must be Katrina, I'll Calleigh, I'm Ryan's coworker." Kat and Calleigh shook hands. Calleigh bent down to Anne.

"Hi Anne, I'm Calleigh. I was going to go over to that vending machine and get a candy bar. If your mom says its ok, want to come with me?"

Anne nodded and looked at her mom.

"Sure hunny, but stay right here with Calleigh, ok?"

"Where are you going, Mommy?"

Calleigh answered for her. "Your mom is going to step outside with her friend for a few minutes, you and I can get a candy bar and sit right here, ok? Mom will be close by."

Anne nodded and took Calleighs hand while Kat shot her a grateful look. They walked away and Kat turned to Ryan, but he was already heading outside.

He head was spinning. He had done the math in his head and realized that the girl had to either be his, or she had cheated while they were together.

"Kat, please stop me from speculating and just tell me the truth..." he said.

Kat had tears in her eyes now. "Ryan, I'm so sorry I never told you..."

He lost his temper at that. "How the fuck do you go five years without telling me I had a child!?"

Kat was visibly upset at his yelling, but held her ground. "I found out I was pregnant right after we broke up. You had made it very clear that you didn't want anything to hold you back..."

"and you thought I would just abandon my own kid?!"

Kat was yelling now too. "No, but I didn't want you to give everything up because of an obligation! So I raised her myself..."

"So why tell me now?"

"Years of guilt I couldn't handle anymore...that, and my company promoted me and offered me a choice of two separate locations...Miami or Denver."

"Let me guess, you want to go to Denver...you always were a skier..." Ryan was still shaking with anger and shock, and he wouldn't look at her when he talked.

"Yes...but I also think I've denied my daughter a chance to know her father..."

Finally Ryan looked at her.

"What are you saying...?"

"I'm saying...that if you want too...I will move here, and let you get to know your daughter...I've been unfair to you and Anne for five years...it's about time I made up for that..."

Ryan didn't know what to say. He just started at the ground.

"Look, I've given you a lot to handle today...I'm going to take Anne and go...I'm in Miami until Saturday. You can think it over and call me when you are ready. Or not call me...it's up to you..."

Kat walked back into the building then, leaving Ryan standing outside.


	2. Coloring and Conditions

**AN: Here's the next chapter! To everyone who's added this story to their alert list, thanks a lot!! I hope you like this chapter too! And don't be shy! Let me know what you think!**

Several days had gone by since Ryan found out the truth. He tried to throw himself into his job at work, focusing on the case and ignoring Calleigh and Delko's attempts to discuss the current situation.

He was so angry at Kat. He couldn't believe that she could let all this time pass without telling him. And the idea that he was a father was completely mind-boggling.

He also had no idea what she expected of him when she said "get to know his daughter". Was she expecting child support payments? He realized that couldn't be it, the Kat he knew was fiercely independent. They usually fought over who paid on dates in college.

He couldn't help but wonder how it happened as well. She had gone on birth control the summer after sophomore year. They had gone to a Fourth of July party that summer and had too much to drink. They had ended up having unprotected sex and had spent the next week sweating it out. Once the panic was over, she had gone on the pill. He remembered how tense that time was; they hadn't handled the possibility of her being pregnant well. It stung him when he remembered how insensitive he had been then; he had been an asshole. It made some more sense as to why she wouldn't tell him when she did end up pregnant.

After two days had gone by, he couldn't take it anymore; he needed some answers. He called her and got the address to her hotel. He showed up 7pm, knocking on the door and waiting anxiously with his hands in his pockets.

Kat opened the door and smiled. "Come on in," she said, stepping back and letting him enter. She was staying in a small suite with one bedroom, a small kitchen, and a small living room.

"Have a seat," she said, gesturing towards the couch. He sat down just as Anne came into the room, wearing just an oversized Boston College shirt that fell past her knees. She halted when she saw Ryan, becoming shy again.

"Do you remember my friend Ryan?" Kat asked her, and Anne nodded. She then turned to her mom.

"Do I have to go to bed now? I want to color."

Ryan had to laugh at the pleading look Anne gave Kat; he knew that look all too well.

Kat finally nodded, and Anne walked over to the couch.

"Want to color with me?" she asked Ryan. Ryan was surprised, but said "ok" and knelt down on the floor with Anne, coloring in a picture of Barbie.

"Oh I would love a picture of this to show to your coworkers," Kat said with a laugh, handing Ryan some coffee.

She let them color for 15 minutes or so. Anne and Ryan chatted a bit; Anne was impressed by Ryan's ability to stay in the lines.

"Alright, sweetie, time for bed," Kat said. "And don't give me that pout," she continued, mocking Anne's face until the little girl giggled. "Go brush your teeth and then I'll come tuck you in." Anne ran to the bathroom and Kat turned to Ryan.

"Nice picture, I like Barbie's skirt," she said, and Ryan smacked her with a pillow. Anne poked her head out of the bathroom.

"I'm done with my teeth…can I say goodnight to Ryan?"

Kat glanced at Ryan still sitting on the couch and then gave Anne the ok. Anne ran into the living room and stood on her tiptoes to throw her arms around his neck.

"'night, Ryan, thanks for coloring!"

He gently hugged her back and she ran back into the bedroom. Kat followed her right away.

Ryan stood up from the couch and walked over to the window, his hands running through his hair again. He couldn't believe that was his daughter that had just hugged him goodnight.

Kat came back into the room, slowly closing the bedroom door closed behind her. Ryan turned to face her, not even caring that his eyes were watering slightly.

"I don't even know what to say right now…" he said, his voice soft but filled with emotion.

"Why don't we start with what made you come over?" Kat sat on one end of the couch and Ryan sat on the other end.

"I just wanted some answers…like, how did you get pregnant…?"

Kat met his eyes. "Birth control baby…it does happen…if you want specifics, I think it probably happened sometime after finals, but before graduation…things were pretty tense with us then, we weren't having sex often, so maybe it was on a Tuesday afternoon, on the couch?"

Ryan glared at Kat. "Glad to see you are just as sarcastic as always…"

"Ok, fine…" Kat said. "Why don't you tell me about yourself? Let me guess, still Mr. Perfection, OCD and a complete suck-up to your superiors…?"

Ryan shook his head. "Not quite, I actually got fired once…"

Kat couldn't hide her surprise.

"What happened?"

"I had a slight gambling issue…you may recall that was a bit of a problem in college as well…" Ryan quickly changed the subject. "What have you been up too? Still with that same company?"

Kat shook her head. "Nope, never took that job. Once I found out I was pregnant, I moved back in with my parents, lived with them and worked part-time until I gave birth, then got a full-time job with another company."

"I still can't believe this…" Ryan said. "She seems like a great kid…"

"She is. She is really smart; she definitely got your science brain."

Ryan laughed as she continued.

"She's really friendly too and well behaved. She does throw the occasional tantrum though."

Ryan laughed harder. "That she gets from you!"

It was Kat's turn to throw a pillow at him. Ryan felt more relaxed and happier; it was good to joke with her again.

"And the name, 'Anne'…let me guess, 'Anne of Green Gables'?"

"I knew you'd see through that one…"

Ryan got quiet again, a million thoughts running through his head.

"Kat, I'm not ready to be a parent…"

Kat stopped him before he could finish.

"Ryan, let me explain my intentions. I'm not asking you to take over custody, or pay child support, or anything. I'm only asking you if you want to be a part of her life. As much or as little as you want. For example, if you have a day off from work, you and Anne could spend the day together. Or, if, as time passes, you want more time, that's fine. I do have a few conditions though"

Ryan was staring at his hands, listening intentionally. When he heard conditions though, he sat up straight.

"Do we need a lawyer?"

"I don't think so…I think we can work it out fine ourselves…my conditions are these though…if you decide you want to be in her life, you can't just suddenly change your mind…I will not tolerate having a crushed kid who's Dad bails on her…I understand if work gets in the way, but no blowing her off just because, or suddenly deciding you don't want to be her dad…"

"I won't do that…I'm not a deadbeat…"

"I know you aren't, I just want you to understand, this isn't just about you anymore…second thing, we need to be on the same page with her…if she misbehaves and gets TV taken away from her for a week, then that punishment stands at your place too, ok?"

Ryan nodded again. "Does she know yet? And how do you know she wants to spend time with me? I don't know how to be with a kid on my own…"

"She doesn't know yet...she's seen pictures of you, but that was awhile ago, she hasn't made the connection." Kat thought for a second. "How about tomorrow, if you are free, we can all go somewhere together…I'll tell her beforehand, we can spend the day together, and I'll give you two some alone time too, so you can kind of feel things out first?"

"Yeah, sure…"

There was a few moments of silence as they sipped their coffee.

"Is this going to complicate things for you," Kat asked. "I mean, is there a girlfriend, or a wife?"

"Nope, no serious girlfriend…I take it you never got married?"

"Nope, a kid is the ultimate baggage, tends to keep the men away. It's alright though, I'm happy."

Ryan stood up and stretched. "Alright, it's getting late, I should get going," he said.

Kat stood up too. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sounds good."

Ryan and Kat hugged briefly and she walked him to the door. He took a few steps down the hall when he heard Kat's voice again.

"Ryan, don't worry…you are going to make a great dad…"

He smiled slightly and nodded his head.


	3. Crash Course

The next morning, Ryan met Kat and Anne at a local park. He got out of his car slowly, feeling anxiety run through his body. He was slowly adjusting to the though of having a daughter, but he had no idea how she would react knowing that he was her father.

He saw Kat and Anne sitting side by side on the swings, swingy lightly and talking. Kat saw Ryan and got up to head towards him, leaving Anne on the swings.

"Hey you," she said as she walked over to him. "I'm glad you could come today!"

Ryan cut right to the chase. "Did you tell her?"

Kat nodded. "Yep. Why don't you go talk to her?"

"Wait, how did she react? Is she ok with it? Does she hate me?"

Kat laughed. "Relax! She's excited, a little surprised, and a little nervous. You two just need some time to spend together. We leave tomorrow to head back home, and we should be out here and settled within a month."

Ryan and Kat watched Anne on the swings for a few minutes.

"So I called my parents last night…" Ryan started to say.

"Oh yeah…how'd they take it?"

"They were, surprised, to say the least. But once they got over the initial shock, they seemed happy. They always did like you," he replied.

Kat smiled, somewhat sadly. "I miss your parents, they were always really good to me," she said, not taking her eyes off Anne.

"You are still the only girl they've ever met," he said, smiling.

"We did go through a lot of firsts in our relationships," Kat laughed now.

"Yeah, some good, some bad…some that happened rather quickly…" Ryan said the last part quickly.

Kat started laughing loudly while Ryan turned slightly red.

"Oh don't be embarrassed, it was still fun…and we got the hang of things with a little practice…"

Before the conversation could go any further, Anne called out to her parents. "Come swing with me!"

Kat turned to Ryan. "Why don't you go? I'll sit on these benches and watch."

Ryan nodded, suddenly nervous again. But he walked over and plopped down on the swing next to her. They talked easily; Anne told him all about school and her friends, and her favorite things. She also asked a million questions about Miami, making Ryan promise to take her to the zoo once she moved here.

Kat sat back and watched them, giving them their time. Ryan couldn't help but once again think back on his relationship with her and how much they had grown up since then. She was older; she dressed like a professional instead of the jeans and t-shirts she normally wore. She had the wisdom of a mother. But she still had that smile, the one that won Ryan over the first day of freshman English. Her blue eyes were the same, and she still even had the freckles on her nose that he always teased her about.

* * *

Kat and Anne left the next day to head back to Boston. Ryan felt a strange sense of emptiness when they left. However, he knew they would be back soon. So for the moment, he threw himself back into his work.

A week before Anne and Kat officially moved to Miami, he was walking through the halls of the lab when he heard a voice call out to him.

"Ryan, wait up!"

He turned around and groaned.

"Erica, what are you doing here?"

"Nice greeting, thanks," she said, clearly annoyed.

"Sorry, I've just been in enough trouble here lately and I don't need you stirring up more for me," he replied.

"I'm not here on assignment or here because I need something. I just wanted to see you…I miss you," she said, reaching out to take his hand.

Ryan pulled away however. "Look, Erica, I've told you before. It's over, ok?"

"Come on, Ryan," Erica practically purred, getting awfully close to him. "We may not have necessarily had a relationship…but the sex was amazing at least…let's have dinner next week."

"I can't, I'm busy…"

"With what?" Erica persisted.

"I have plans with my daughter," Ryan said, amused by the look of surprise on her face.

"How…when…?" The words wouldn't come out.

"It's a long story…I have to go though…bye," Ryan fled down the hall and ran smack into Eric.

"Having fun, Wolfe?"

Ryan glared at Eric. "Next time she ambushes me, help me out!"

He continued to walk while Eric just laughed.

A week later, Kat and Anne were moved into a house about 15 minutes from Ryan's place. Ryan and Kat had worked out a mutual schedule that allowed Ryan and Anne time to be together.

Anne and Ryan had spent a few afternoons together and Ryan could feel himself really bonding with the young girl. He was ignorant to what 5 year old girls liked to do, but Anne opened up to him pretty quickly. While he would never admit it out loud, he actually didn't mind playing Barbie's…as long as Anne was content.

It was pretty simple, really, this whole 'being a dad' thing, he thought. So when Kat called and said she was invited to a day long conference, Ryan offered to take Anne for the day. He figured it would be simple; they could go to the park, play games, and then she could settle in with a movie while he did some paperwork.

Anne had been at his house for less than an hour and was coloring, but Ryan noticed she was rather quiet. He was cleaning up the kitchen when he heard her voice.

"Ryan?" She said. This is the first time she had addressed him since she found out he was her father.

"Yeah?" he said, turning around to find her standing in the middle of the living room.

"My tummy hurts…" she whimpered. Before Ryan could even say anything, she had thrown up on the carpet.

"Oh shit," he said instinctively. But he regretted his words the minute he saw the tears on Anne's face.

Crime scenes, dead bodies, getting shot at, these were all in a days work for Ryan. But a crying, puking little girl was completely new to him, and he had no idea what to do. He knew had better figure it out fast though.

"It's ok sweetie, we can clean it up," he said, trying to sound as gentle as possible.

He walked over to Anne who was now sobbing.

"I'm sorry I threw up on your carpet!" she was crying.

"The carpet can be cleaned," he said logically.

"I threw up on myself!" she continued.

Ryan tried to figure out what to do.

"Come with me," he said, leading her into the bathroom. He turned on the warm water in the tub.

"Take off your clothes and get into the bath, ok? I'll get you a shirt to wear," he said, unsure if five years old was too young to take a bath by herself, or if she was too modest at that age to have him around.

"Um, just wash yourself off, and leave your clothes on the floor. I'll put them through the wash."

He went into his room quickly and grabbed a t-shirt for her to wear. It'd be huge, but it would do. He put the shirt in the bathroom for her. She was still standing there, crying. On instinct, he reached out and kissed her head.

"It's going to be fine sweetie, you clean up and I'll clean up the living room, ok?"

Anne finally nodded and Ryan left to give her privacy. He walked into the living room and found some paper towels. He decided not to call Kat unless necessary, but he decided to call a doctor for some advice. He had another call to make first though.

* * *

"Hey, Wolfe, you owe me for this," Delko said as he walked into Ryan's apartment. "A man like me should not have to walk into a video store and rent Disney movies." Delko placed several grocery bags on the kitchen table.

"Stop whining, I've got a five year old who keeps puking, and not all of it is making it in the trashcan, I can't leave." He glanced at the bags on the tables. "Thanks man."

"No problem. I got ginger ale, pedialyte freezer pops, and saltine crackers. Anything else I can do?"

Before Ryan could respond, he heard Anne's voice call from the bedroom. "Daddy!"

Ryan ran right into the bedroom. Delko laughed softly.

"I guess I'll put this away for you," he said to himself, opening the fridge door.

Ryan got the trashcan in front of Anne just in time. He rubbed her back softly and spoke soothingly to her. Delko walked in bringing a glass of ginger ale and some saltines, as well as the movies.

When Anne was finished, Ryan took the trashcan and brought it into the bathroom to clean up. He came back out a few minutes later and found Delko putting The Little Mermaid on the DVD player. Anne was comfortably situated in Ryan's bed, propped up on pillows, sipping at some ginger ale.

"The pedialyte pops are in the freezer, there's more ginger ale in the fridge too. Anything else I can help with?" Delko asked.

"I think we're set, I really owe you, thank you," Ryan replied, settling himself on the bed next to Anne.

"Don't mention it, call if you need anything else," he said, leaning over to ruffle Anne's hair. "Feel better, kiddo."

Delko left and Anne snuggled up against Ryan to watch the movie. He put his arm around her and kissed her head, brushing her hair back so he could feel her forehead.

"You still feel warm…how's your stomach feeling, cutie?"

"A little better," she replied softly. "I'm sorry I keep puking…"

"Don't worry about it, sweetie, just get some rest and enjoy the movie, ok?"

Anne nodded. "Are you going to stay with me, daddy?"

Ryan kissed her head again, feeling a strange sense of joy at the way she had started addressing him. "Of course, I'll be right here."

The next thing Ryan remembered was hearing a soft clicking noise. He opened his eyes and realized both him and Anne had fallen asleep during the movie. He saw that she was still sleeping soundly, her head against his shoulder. He then looked around for the source of the clicking noise and noticed Kat in the doorway, snapping pictures with a camera.

"What are you doing?" he whispered.

"Taking pictures…I'm a mom, it's my prerogative to document every moment of my child's life…and this is adorable…"

Ryan rolled his eyes. "It hasn't been an adorable afternoon. Anne has a stomach flu."

"Oh no, why didn't you call me?"

"I knew you were busy, I didn't want to bother you. I had it under control."

"Poor girl…how's she doing?"

"Well, she puked multiple times; the first one was on the living room floor…although the rest made it in the trashcan. I had Delko pick up some movies, ginger ale, and those pedialyte popsicles."

"You got her pedialyte?"

"Well, yeah…that's what the doctor said to get…" Ryan suddenly looked embarrassed.

"You called her doctor?'

"Yeah, I've never had a sick five year old before, I wanted to make sure I did it all right…"

Kat was practically beaming. "See, I told you that you would make a great father…"

Ryan tried to slowly ease off the bed without waking Anne. He succeeded after several minutes, dashing past Kat to the bathroom. She gave him a strange look.

"You catch the flu too?"

"Nope, just really have to piss," he said as he closed the door, hearing Kat's laughter.

He came out a few minutes later.

"You are welcome to hang out here for a bit if you don't want to wake her yet," Ryan said.

Kat thought for a minute. "You sure you don't mind? I don't want to inconvenience you."

"Nah, it's fine, we can watch _The Little Mermaid_," he said teasingly.

"You know that it's my favorite movie," she said seriously.

"That I do," Ryan replied, in mock seriousness.

They each settled on the bed on either side on Anne. Ryan started the movie over again. Anne woke up enough to acknowledge her mother being there, and then she feel asleep again, snuggled comfortably between her parents.


	4. Residual Feelings

**AN: New chapter! To everyone who added this to their alert list, thanks! And don't be shy...tell me what you think!!**

In all his years as a CSI…he had never had a case so rough. A murdered child, a family with secrets. For several days Ryan had been consumed by his job. He had barely slept, barely eaten. The whole team worked as hard as they could to find the person responsible for taking the life away from a young girl. When the case was finally solved, and the person responsible was finally behind bars, he let out a sigh of relief. He was so excited to go home and sleep. But as he got in his car, he couldn't get the image of the murdered child out of his head. So instead of heading home, he took a detour.

* * *

"Hey, everything ok?"

Ryan nodded. "Yeah, I just…can I come in?"

"Of course, of course," Kat moved away from the door, letting Ryan step in.

"Is Anne in bed already?" He asked.

"Yes…Ryan, stop, what's going on?" Kat put a hand on his shoulder, concern evident on her face.

Ryan took a deep breath. "I'm sorry to worry you. I just had a rough case today…and I wanted to see Anne…do you mind if I just go say goodnight?"

Kat nodded and Ryan headed for Anne's bedroom. He tiptoed into her room. Anne was curled up in her bed, blankets wrapped around her body, her feet sticking out at the end of the bed. He gently tugged the covers over her feet and then sat down at the head of her bed, leaning down to kiss her head. She stirred then, turning over.

"Daddy?" she said sleepily.

"Shh, go back to bed, sweetie, I was just saying goodnight."

Anne sat up slowly, and put her arms around Ryan, giving him a quick hug and a kiss before lying back down and sleeping. Ryan remembered the events of the day and felt a surge of emotion; he was both devastated by the case and yet so happy about his growing relationship with Anne.

He left her room, slowly closing the door behind him, and joined Kat in the kitchen. She opened the fridge and pulled out two beers when she saw him coming. She cracked them both open and handed one to him.

Ryan took it gratefully and took a swig. Kat gestured to the couch and Ryan sank down onto it. Kat joined him. She was silent, but he could sense her eyes on him, and he knew she was waiting for him to talk.

Finally, he gave in and sighed.

"My case this week involved a murdered child. A little girl."

Kat gasped. "Oh no…please tell me you caught the bastard."

Ryan nodded. "We did. But this case hit me hard…any case involving a child always does, but this one was particularly bad...especially now that I have a daughter of my own."

Kat nodded understandingly and reached out a hand, rubbing his arm gently. He relaxed under her touch, enjoying the comfort that came from her familiarity. He felt a slight buzz from the beer and realized he hadn't eaten all day. He had been too consumed by the case and now he wanted to forget.

Ryan continued to lean into Kat as her hands gently rubbed his arm, moving to his shoulders. She rubbed them gently, massaging out the knots. He loved the feel of her fingers through his shirt. It was the most relaxed he had felt in days. He sunk more into touch until soon he was lying back, resting against her whole body while she ran her fingers through his hair gently. Kat wasn't pressuring him to talk, yet he felt a sudden urge to talk about the case. Unlike a conversation with his coworkers, he left out specific details about the case. Instead, he told her about how he felt seeing the child; how, for the first time since his first autopsy, he felt vomit rise in his throat at the sight of the body and he had to choke it back. How it took every ounce of willpower not to reach across the table in interrogation and strangle the bastard who murdered the child.

"Honestly, Kat, the only thing that got me through the day was being able to see Anne.." he said softly.

"You've really bonded with her, haven't you?" Kat asked, running her fingers across the nape of his neck. This simple touch sent shivers down his spine; good shivers, the kind he hadn't felt in a long time.

"I have…it's strange, I thought it would take much longer…but after just a short amount of time, I really feel like a father to her. I still can't believe I have a daughter…not only that, but I really love her, Kat," he replied, sitting up and turning to face her.

Kat smiled. "I know you do…I know I was wrong to not tell you about her all this time, but I am really glad with how things have worked out."

Ryan nodded in agreement. He looked up at Kat, and suddenly he felt 21 again. Slight beer buzz, relaxed, and sitting with a beautiful girl. And she wasn't just any girl. She was the only girl he had ever loved, and she was also the mother of his child. So much emotion from the day was taking over, and he wasn't thinking straight. He brushed her hair back from her face, seeing her slight tremble at this surprising touch. He leaned in and gently brushed his lips across hers. She didn't pull back. But when he deepened the kiss, she did pull back and stood up from the couch, grabbing the beer bottles and heading towards the kitchen.

"Kat," Ryan started to say, watching her back as she leaned against the kitchen counter. He stopped talking though, and instead got up from the couch, walking up behind her and putting his hands on her waist. She jumped at the touch and turned around. She was now completely in his arms, and when she realized this she wrenched out of his grip and stepped away several feet.

"Kat, talk to me," Ryan pleaded, just as confused by his own feelings as he was about her responses.

Finally she turned around and met his eyes.

"Ryan…what are you doing?"

Ryan sighed. "I don't know, Kat…I don't know what came over me…"

Kat sighed too. "Ryan, look, you know how much I care about you…but we can't do this. This is only going to work if you and I stay completely plutonic."

"But why, Kat? We had something great once, remember? And I see you standing there like that, and feeling your hands on my body….it makes me remember everything we had…don't deny that you feel it…I know you, Kat, I know you are feeling things too!"

Kat avoided his gaze but she knew she was busted. After a few seconds of fidgeting she finally blurted out her confession. "Alright, fine! Having you around again, seeing you with our daughter…it does bring back a lot of old feelings and memories…" she hesitated.

"Then what's the problem?" Ryan asked gently, slowly approaching her, taking her hands in his. To his pleasure, she didn't pull back this time.

"Ryan, all of the same issues we had years ago are still there…none of that is solved, we just didn't have to deal with it as friends…and then there's Anne…"

"What, you think she can't handle her parents being together?" Ryan asked, clearly being sarcastic.

"You just don't get it Ryan…this isn't a game! If this doesn't work out, Anne's the one that gets hurt! She's had enough change in her life; I want some consistence for her…I'm sorry, Ryan, but whatever residual feelings we may have…we need to forget about them."

Ryan started to say something but Kat ended the conversation.

"I think I should go to bed…I'll talk to you later." Kat took her hands gently out of Ryan's and headed towards the door, holding it open. Ryan took the hint and left.


End file.
